Ascent of Blanca Peak on 2010-08-15

Ascent Trip Report

We started on Saturday afternoon from just above the 2WD trailhead. The hike to Lake Como was on a road, but not much of one. There were lots of rocks, and they took their toll on our feet over two days. We made camp at Lake Como, which was very beautiful. We took some photos at the lake at sunset, with Little Bear in the background. The evening was serene with trout surfacing and a deer grazing on the far side.

The next morning we started out just after 4:00 AM. The idea was to avoid being in the sun and heat of the day for too long. The idea was sound, but the plan wasn't too successful... it was a really long hike. Lots of rocks.

The trail to Blanca was very well marked. The route was simpler than I had expected, with the exception of the final scramble to the summit. However, all 4 of us made it; even Ron with his fear of heights. It was his first 14er, and he did fantastically. All were on the summit by 9:00 AM. That's pretty slow going, but it was very rocky.

Ron and I were later on the summit than Rick and Preston, and we didn't want to make them wait too long, so we decided to forgo the traverse to Ellingwood Point. Little did we know that the other two did not summit Ellingwood Point either.

On the way back down we picked up our gear at camp, and kept going back down to the car. Our feet we aching due to the rocks. However, looking back at the Blanca massive, we were all amazed at the magnitude of the mountain. It rises more than 7,000 feet above the valley below. Awesome.